A Tearful Farewell to Romance

A Singaporean writer boards the last E & O train out of Singapore in the midst of a rising tide.

Sunday, June 5, 2011 will probably be remembered for what has been described as the worst flooding in 25 years in Singapore, triggered by two bouts of intense rainfall, one at mid morning which had some 65 mm of rain fall in a half-hour period. It was a morning that I found myself up at the break of day, greeted not by the bright Sunday I had hoped for, but by the greyness of the rain washed morning.

The intensity of the early morning downpour and the resulting rising waters of the Bukit Timah Canal, wasn’t of course what this post is all about, but an event that, I would certainly have remembered June 5, 2011 for – the final departure of the luxury Eastern and Oriental Express train service from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

A final walk down the platform (Photo: Jerome Lim)

Strangers on a Train:

Strangers on a Train is an attempt to celebrate the passing of an era by a gathering on what is scheduled to be the last train that pulls into Tanjong Pagar Railway Station on 30 June, 2011. If you are interested to join us, we are on Train 15 Ekspres Sinaran Timur (most of are in Coach 2 and are getting on that at Segamat). Do note that tickets for the Express services, which can be purchased up to 30 days in advance, to and from Singapore this June are fast selling, with trains for most weekends already quite full, and can be obtained at the station (advance bookings open from 8.30 am daily) or online at the KTMB website. If you would like to join us and have you tickets, you may drop an email to Notabilia or me with the subject line “Strangers on a Train”.

The rain-washed platform of the Bukit Timah Station

Further information of interest:

Information related to the station and its architecture can be found on a previous post: “A final look at Tanjong Pagar Station” . In addition to that, I have also put together a collection of experiences and memories of the railway in Singapore and of my journeys through the grand old station which can be found through this page: “Journeys through Tanjong Pagar” .

Do also take a look at the proposal by the Nature Society (Singapore) to retain the green areas that have been preserved by the existence of the railway through Singapore and maintain it as a Green Corridor, at the Green Corridor’s website show your support by liking the Green Corridor’s Facebook page . My own series of posts on the Green Corridor are at: “Support the Green Corridor” .

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